The Importance of Crop Diversity

Native Seeds/SEARCH is a vital leader in the Southwest region for conserving and promoting crop diversity to strengthen community resilience and food security. The mission of Native Seeds/SEARCH (Southwestern Endangered Aridland Resources Clearing House) is to conserve, distribute, and document the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico.

Crop diversity is key to achieving sustainable food security both globally and within our own region of focus, the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. NS/S approach to food security focuses on seed security, which relies on the conservation and sharing of appropriate crop diversity and the knowledge to use that diversity effectively. Their programs are designed to address these goals and broadly entail:

Seed banking to ensure the survival of unique agricultural biodiversity and to document its traits.

Seed distribution so that these crops continue to contribute to the region’s food systems.

Support for on-farm maintenance of dynamically-evolving crop varieties.

Research into low-input and climate-appropriate agricultural practices.

Education in managing local crop diversity and contributing to regional efforts.

Learn more this weekend at the market where we will be hosting Native Seeds/SEARCH for a FREE workshop starting at 9am.

Find more ways to get involved with their organization here: http://www.nativeseeds.org/get-involved